Controversy over God’s gender
Archbishop finds “Lord’s Prayer” patriarchal
7/8/2023 4:51 p.m
Is God a man, a woman, or neither? Believers have had this debate for a long time. Now the Archbishop of York follows suit and shakes the central prayer “Our Father”. Conservative Christians remind him of the text of the Holy Scriptures, liberals refer to church abuse scandals.
Theological trouble awaits the church in Britain: The Archbishop of York has remarked that the opening of the Lord’s Prayer, which has been recited by Christians around the world for 2000 years, could be “problematic” because of its patriarchal connotations. In his opening address to the General Synod of the Church of England, Stephen Cottrell dealt with the lineage of God in the Lord’s Prayer prayer, as reported by the Guardian and the Telegraph.
Literally, the archbishop said: “I know that the word ‘father’ is problematic for those whose experiences with earthly fathers have been destructive and abusive, and for all of us who have suffered far too much from an oppressive patriarchal influence on life. ” With his remarks, Cottrell referred to an earlier session of the synod in February, at which several pastors had called for a gender-neutral conception of God in order to anchor these forms in worship.
“Oriented to culture rather than Scripture”
Conservatives had already rejected the proposal in February. Male and female images are not interchangeable, the Telegraph quotes the reasoning. After Cottrell’s speech, canon Chris Sugden, leader of the conservative group Anglican Mainstream, pointed out that in the Bible Jesus tells people to pray to “our Father”. “Is the Archbishop of York claiming that Jesus was wrong, or that Jesus was unaware of pastoral care? It seems emblematic of the approach taken by some church leaders to look to culture rather than Scripture.” The pastor Ian Paul also referred to the Bible text: “We are not at liberty to reject this clear and consistent teaching of the Holy Scriptures.”
The Archbishop received support from Pastor Christina Rees. Cottrell put his finger on a point that has been relevant to Christians for many years. “Calling God ‘Father’ is extremely problematic. When women complain about that, there is a certain understanding,” she said, according to the Telegraph, also referring to the issue of abuse by clergy. Sometimes victims of abuse were first abused by their biological fathers and then abused by the priest. “So there are several levels why the term ‘Father’ is really difficult for people in the church.”